More Members Own Homes

All other things being equal, credit union members serve as a stronger pool of potential home equity loan borrowers than do nonmembers because 85% of members own their own homes, compared to just over 65% of nonmembers and 73% of all U.S. consumers. Part of this disparity can be attributed to credit unions' strong membership penetration among 45 to 65 year olds (among the age groups recording the highest home-ownership levels among all U.S. consumers), and their weaker penetration among the 18 to 34 group (the age group least likely to own their homes among all U.S. consumers).